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MBI said Monday's announcement is the end of a complex 2-year-long complex investigation into organized crime in Orange and Osceola counties.

In Operation Pop-A-Smurf, seven women and one 17-year-old girl were rescued from sexual slavery. Officials said the women are receiving counseling and drug treatment since heroin was used to coerce them into prostitution.

Less than one week ago one of the alleged human trafficking victims, Casey King, was killed in a drive-by shooting at a drug house.

“It is no coincidence that that homicide, that drive-by, happened at one of these homes. We all know now there is a marriage between drugs and human trafficking,” Bondi said.

Guns and drugs were also confiscated in the investigation.

Investigators said the ring was run by four principal suspects. One of them, Edward Redmond, is still at large.

Florida ranks third in the nation for human trafficking cases, after California and Texas. MBI said most of the female victims in their cases are involved in sex trafficking and are in their late teens and early 20s.